After an invigorating week of meetings and inaugurations, AGBU is excited to post the following album filled with hundreds of photos documenting its 87th General Assembly. Delegates and supporters totaling over 300 from 26 countries spent a full week in Armenia and Karabakh from October 14 to 21, 2012, celebrating the organization’s many accomplishments and planning ahead for a challenging future.

Click here to download the PDF (3.24MB) of the October 2012 edition of AGBU Melbourne’s Nor Tsayn Newsletter.

There’s just no debating it: students of the AGBU Alexander Primary School in Sydney, Australia, are some of the strongest public speakers in their district.

This month, for the eighth year in a row, the school’s debate team took home the winning title in the Forest District Interschool Debating Competition. During what was at times a nail-biting event, each student delivered strong arguments and rebuttals while friends and family proudly looked on. They finally scored winning points when they were presented with the topic “wisdom is better than strength.” Their reply – that wisdom may bring success in life, but it’s useless without strength of character – put the trophy in their hands. Mrs. Meaghan Terrey, the team coordinator, praised the group, remarking, “I am justly proud of their efforts and congratulate them on their researching of the topics, their presentation and delivery skills. They have learned a great deal.” She also noted that all the school’s students played an important role in supporting the team – and they all look forward to celebrating together!

AGBU is now accepting applications for its 2013 Summer Internship Program, putting the amazing opportunity to live and work in the world’s most exciting cities within reach for Armenian college students.

Each internship program destination – Moscow, New York and Yerevan – offers participants something different, but equally rewarding. In Yerevan, students meet with government officials who are leading the country into the future, while tours of Armenia’s historical landmarks and a four-day journey to Karabakh bring them closer to their past. In Moscow, participants attend seminars with executives at global companies and look forward to a mid-summer trip to St. Petersburg, a favorite annual tradition. In New York, a series of social events and networking activities give meaning to the phrase “the city that never sleeps.”

No matter what city they’re in, AGBU interns are always among their diasporan peers, who quickly become lifelong friends. They’re also positioning themselves for careers – in recent years, AGBU proudly congratulated many interns who were offered jobs at their host institutions. Wherever their internships take them, every student leaves the program with the resources, skills, and strong resumes they need to succeed.

The competitive selective process is already underway. All interested students are urged to apply now. Scholarships are awarded based on need and academic merit.

Application deadlines and contact information for each program are listed in the ad here.

AGBU culminated its week of meetings, openings and excursions in Karabakh and Armenia with its 87th biennial General Assembly this past Saturday, October 20, 2012. The below photo shows Armenia’s Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan addressing members and special guests at the assembly, which was held at the newly inaugurated Vatche & Tamar Manoukian Library on the grounds of Holy Etchmiadzin.

Later that night during the farewell dinner, hundreds of AGBU guests, inspired by all that they saw and learned this past week, donated and pledged $250,000 on the spot toward the AGBU Syria Emergency Relief Fund. AGBU is continuing its efforts in Syria to help the greater Armenian community caught in a realm of chaos overwhelming the country and you can help by donating here.

More exciting coverage and photos to come, but in the meantime, enjoy this video with highlights from the spectacular concert sponsored by AGBU at the Karen Demirchian Sports & Concert Complex in Yerevan on October 19, 2012, which was attended by RA President & First Lady Serj and Rita Sargsyan, and a number of high-ranking dignitaries. http://youtu.be/Uwd90O_SPV8 Performers included Shusan Petrosyan, the Armenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the AGBU Nork Children’s Center students and more.